Crosby's Kitchen & CocktailOdelay

We've been searching for a winter seasonal beer that can truly reflect the influences of the Hispanic foods we love. Since it's getting colder, we thought of trying to make a beer that tasted like a champurrado - or Mexican hot chocolate - minus the hot part. Champurrado is more than just hot chocolate. It is often accompanied by canelo (cinnamon), allspice, cayenne, and even masa harina. We decided to break it down into separate ingredients and came up with a mix of HEXX chocolate, canelo, allspice, and for a twist, we're adding a few pounds of dried New Mexican sourced pasilla chilies (we're freaks about a good molé) and barley as a substitute for the masa. We ended up with a chocolaty, spicy - but not hot - beer that we think you'll love.